


Quiet Days and Starless Nights

by accidentaltsundere



Series: Antithesis [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Klance being cute, Lance misses his family, M/M, fluffy but also sad stuff, homesick Lance, i just needed some klance in my life after season 5, klance, this has definitely been done before, two boys in love but they don’t know it yet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-13
Updated: 2018-03-13
Packaged: 2019-03-31 01:18:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,976
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13964229
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/accidentaltsundere/pseuds/accidentaltsundere
Summary: Keith becomes the one Lance seeks in his most vulnerable state, which becomes a lesson in emotions and love.





	Quiet Days and Starless Nights

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone!!! So I know this is cliche as hell but I’m starved for klance lmao. This is only part one of what I want to do with my ideas, which I’m pretty excited about (^: I hope you guys like this because I really enjoyed writing this ♡♡♡

Tossing and turning in his uncomfortable bed, Keith rubs at his sleepless eyes and blinks through the near-darkness. This is night number three in a row, and it's starting to take a toll on his mind and prey on his physical strength as exhaustion seeps into his core.

There is a light knocking on the door that startles him out of his thoughts.

"H-hey, Keith? Can I come in?" Lance's voice is muffled from behind the door, telltale nerves lacing his tone.

"Uh—sure," Keith replies, sitting up and taking a deep breath to steady his racing heart. Lately, being around Lance has become a new challenge—every little smile, word of encouragement, playful joke, casual touch, moment of bravery in battle—it's overwhelming, and Keith isn't sure how to handle his feelings, aside from vent to Shiro when no one else is around.

The door slides open, and in steps Lance, approaching with careful steps. The dim light from the hallway highlights his figure, framing his slumped shoulders and ruffled locks of hair.

The door shuts with a quiet finality, and Lance stands awkwardly in the center of the room, clutching something against his chest.

"Um...you can sit, i-if you...if you want," Keith invites, making room for Lance to sit on the edge of the bed. He finds it hard to maintain composed when they're alone.

Little does he know that Lance is equally as flustered, unsure of how to relax around the dark-haired boy, so gentle and brooding underneath the blanket of darkness surrounding them.

"Sorry for interrupting, if you were asleep," Lance says finally, gripping the edge of the mattress to calm his unsteady hands. "Hunk didn't sleep well last night because I needed someone to talk to, and so...I wanted to let him rest tonight."

"It's okay. I haven't been sleeping much either."

They exist in the silence for a moment, the glow of the blue lights along the sides of the walls and the bed allowing Keith to study Lance's defeated expression and despairing eyes.

"Is something wrong?" Keith asks hesitantly.

"I'm just homesick." Lance breathes out a laugh to prevent the tears from falling, his heart thudding hopelessly against his chest. "I miss Earth... _so_ much."

His entire being shivering with sadness, Lance continues. "I miss...my family, and my mom's cooking, and the rain, and the sun, and..." Trailing off, he sniffles, teardrops dripping on his hands. "I just miss everything."

Keith freezes, the wheels in his head turning as he processes how to comfort the crying boy. Moving so that there is no more space in between them, he drapes an arm around Lance's shoulders, awakening a fleet of butterflies in Lance's belly.

"Y-you don't have to say anything," Lance whispers through stifled sobs, leaning further into the comforting touch. Keith squeezes his shoulder, gazing at the brunette boy with concerned eyes.

Keith lets Lance cry, and lets his sadness fill up the quiet room, saturating everything in Lance's heartache. Keith wishes he could take his pain away, leaving it behind in the vast emptiness of space.

After a few minutes he composes himself, wiping his puffy, teary eyes on the back of his sleeve. He doesn't want to keep seeing Lance so melancholy, so he pokes at the stuffed shark clutched to Lance's chest.

"What's that?" Keith inquires, his tone so gentle that Lance wants to melt.

A smile blooms on his lips. "It's like...I don't know, something for comfort? Something to remind me of home? I've slept with this since I was younger. My sister gave it to me." Eyes tracing Keith's curious expression, he continues. "You don't have one of these?"

Keith shakes his head, chewing his lip to chase away the loneliness. "No," he replies, smiling awkwardly. "There was never anyone around to give me something like that."

Keith's arm still rests around Lance's shoulders, but the brunette boy pushes the stuffed animal into Keith's free hand. 

"Keep it," Lance whispers. "You need it more than I do."

"Are you sure?" Keith hesitates, knowing just how important this is to Lance.

"Yeah, dude." Lance smiles earnestly, and his smile lights up the darkened room, casting a warm glow around them.

_Fuck, he's so beautiful._

"What do you miss about Earth?" Lance asks softly, his voice only increasing the fluttery feelings that reach Keith's fingertips.

Keith flops backwards on the bed, breathing out a sigh. "I miss...freedom. Like...being able to breathe in the air, and have watching the stars be a luxury. You know?"

Lance nods, laying back unsurely. He and Keith have never talked about so many deeply personal things for such a prolonged amount of time. The new conversation feels intimate, new territory they have never dared to enter.

Lance feels comfortable enough now, comfortable enough to unravel in front of Keith, to be vulnerable in front of Keith and have it be okay. Not just as rivals, not just as teammates, not just as friends. As something else. The light teasing they've shared recently has melted away in this intimate atmosphere, leaving only understanding.

"I also miss the food, I guess?" Lance snorts at this, gazing at Keith as he chuckles in earnest, eyes crinkling as he laughs. "I mean...the food up here kinda leaves something to be desired."

"What's your favorite food?" Lance inquires.

Keith considers this, gripping the edge of his blanket. "Um...maybe...macaroni and cheese?" He shrugs, letting out a little laugh that makes butterflies tickle Lance's belly. "What about you?"

"Anything my mom makes, really," Lance replies in a dreamy tone, wistfulness wrapping itself around his words. "Rice and beans are my jam. Also _ropa vieja_ , the way my mom makes it. It's the best. You would love it. When we go back to Earth, I should have her make it for you."

A silence exists between them momentarily, before Keith pipes up, his tone unsure, "You would let me meet your family?"

Lance looks over, tracing the insecurities in Keith's tired indigo eyes. "Of course I would, dude," he answers gently. "We're friends. My family is your family."

Tears flood Keith's eyes at these words and he rubs them away before Lance can see. "Thanks," he whispers in reply. "That means a lot to me."

Lance shivers, signaling Keith to drape the blanket over him as well. Now they exist under a shared space of warmth, hesitant to make physical contact.

"Can you tell me about your family?" Keith whispers.

Lance nods, letting his memories float to the surface. "Well, first there's my mom. She's only five feet tall, and she's a badass. She's an amazing cook, and she's super smart, and she's a great singer and dancer, and she can fix anything. Like, if anything breaks in the house, she can fix it. She's basically a superhero."

Keith smiles. "She sounds awesome."

"She is. There's also my _abuelita_ , and she is just as cool as my mom. She plays three different instruments, and she cooks too, which makes it like a war between her and my mom, and she's the sweetest person ever. But she can fight anyone if she needs to."

This makes Keith laugh, a sound Lance knows he'll never get tired of hearing.

The brunette boy continues. "There's my oldest brother, Marco, and he's twenty-six. He's married, and he's a special education teacher, but his dream is to be a writer. He has three kids already—one set of identical twins, named Valerie and Xiomara. They're three. And then he has an older son, named Anthony, but we call him Tony. He's six—Marco's girlfriend, well wife now, got pregnant when they were still in college so that's how Tony was born. Marco's wife is named Isabel. She's super chill, she likes video games so we play them together a lot. We also have the exact same music taste, I swear. It's so weird the way she and Marco met...she's literally the daughter of one of my mom's best friends when she lived in Cuba, and she and Marco became close friends in junior high, and dated in high school, and now they're married. That's crazy, right?"

Keith laughs softly, nodding. When Lance describes his family, he sounds so happy. Keith wants to preserve that happiness forever.

Lance continues. "Then there's Luis, and he's twenty-three. He went to culinary school, so now he works as a chef. His wife is named Micheline, and she's Haitian, so that's pretty cool. He met her in college. She and I bonded over our skincare routines, and she taught me how to do makeup because I sucked at it before. Before I left, she would text me and teach me a French word every day. She was also two months pregnant before I left, and I don't even know if I have a new niece or nephew now. I can't wait to babysit them, if I do."

Lance finishes with his last sibling. "And then there's my sister, Veronica. She's nineteen, and in college right now. She plays hockey, and is an amazing artist, so she's at art school. I'm closest to her, probably because..." Lance hesitates, biting his lip. "I mean, she's gay, and I'm bi, so...it's nice, having someone who gets me in that sense."

Lance exhales a breath he was holding. Besides his family, Hunk, and Pidge, he hasn't told anyone about his sexuality before. Keith's silence makes him want to sink beneath the blankets and disappear.

"Your family...sounds so amazing," Keith pipes up eventually, sensing Lance's discomfort. Too nervous to make eye contact, especially due to their close proximity, Keith continues. "I'm, um...not straight...either?"

Lance freezes, his self-consciousness melting away into nothing as the tightness in his chest breaks away. "Wait. Really?"

"Yeah...I've never told anyone besides Shiro before, but I'm definitely gay." Keith laughs awkwardly, sparking a smile from Lance.

They each find the courage to meet each other's eyes, the admittance of a truth that terrifies them both feeling so freeing, and so relieving.

Their conversation flows naturally beyond then, growing sparser as time passes. Keith doesn't notice how tired he is until his face is nuzzled into Lance's stuffed animal, and he feels himself sinking into a sleep that creeps up on him without warning. With his eyes closed and his guards lowered as he enters the realm of sleep, Keith looks so soft. He's so beautiful, with his long lashes, and dark locks falling across his forehead, and lightly muscular frame clutching the plush animal to his chest. As he submits to sleep, his soft snores lull Lance into a rhythmic tranquility, and before he knows it, Lance has drifted away into dreams.

• • •

Keith's limbs feel heavy with exhaustion as he wakes. He opens his eyelids with the effort of lifting weights, gaze resting on Lance, who is standing next to the door.

"Lance?" he rasps, rubbing the blur of sleep from his eyes.

The brunette boy turns to face Keith, running a hand through his messy waves of hair. "It's almost time to wake up, so I should go back to my room." Lance clears his throat, a shy smile blooming on his lips. "Thanks for...letting me stay."

"No problem." Keith returns the shy smile, his feelings for the other boy permeating throughout every fiber of his being. Lance is more unique and beautiful than any vast galaxy, any dazzling nebula, any supernova. He hopes his wistful stare doesn't give anything away, but Lance doesn't notice, only feeling an overwhelming wave of feelings for the boy across the room, ethereal in his beauty and understanding and soft awkwardness. Before he can allow himself to submit fully to the sensation, Lance waves, exiting the room with airy steps that echo down the starless hallway.

**Author's Note:**

> I’m Haitian so I felt the need to insert a piece of myself into this for no reason lmaooooo
> 
> Also rice and beans>>>>>>everything else in the universe I refuse to believe Lance disagrees
> 
> I hope y’all liked this as much as I liked writing it, pls comment because those make me happy and check out my tumblr if ya want! (@/astropansexual)


End file.
